| Rating: 4/5 A movie review by James Berardinelli. | Rating: 3/5, April 17, 2001 Don’t worry, it won’t take long. He, like many viewers, is forced to examine his bigotry and reassess his feelings about the gay community as he comes to know them as people rather than symbols and caricatures. I could not buy any of these characters as real life people. However, to my knowledge, Philadelphia was the first high-budget, mainstream film about AIDS to appear on the screen. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. The ethical dilemmas presented in the movie were dilemmas faced by the public but had never thought about deeply. Tom Hanks' performance was obviously worthy of his first Oscar for his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a gay, AIDS-stricken man who was fired from his job for what he believes to be discrimination against his sexual orientation and disease. And Demme seems to know that, since despite showing a lot of testimonies (one of the witnesses is Roger Corman, I don’t know why), there’s no tension deriving from the trial: the outcome is known well in advance and when it’s revealed it’s not even emphasized! You’re right, and yet more than one million Americans live with HIV today… But it seems that no one talks about it! Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! It never fails to bring tears to my eyes. I always thought that Liam Neeson's performance in Schindler's List was what should've recieved the Oscar in 1993. But too often, even at its most assertive, it works in safely predictable ways. A touching movie, which has taken the place of "The Fugitive" (1993) as my favorite movie. This movie was fantastic.I am a huge Tom Hanks fan. I am sorry that there is even one homosexual out there who are is alienated from their families that they have no one to really turn to. FAQ Tom Hanks is the only actor to win two consecutive "Best Actor" awards (Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) and I think Philadelphia was the start of his superior career in acting. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Although this is Hanks's best performance of his career, he is very closely followed by Denzel Washington who gives a perfect performance as the only lawyer who will take on the case although he is a homophobe himself. It is not just canny, corny and blatantly patriotic, but compassionate, compelling and emotionally devastating. Cinemark In this way, the filmmakers build a connection between Hanks' character and the viewers, gay or not. Sparks of acting brilliance rescue the cautious, sometimes craven script, as does Demme's inventive direction. ): he was a person who loved life, loved his job, and had done nothing wrong to deserve such a painful and horrible end. Philadelphia (1993) was directed by Jonathan Demme. Forgot your password? Every actor's contribution to the film is noteworthy, especially when Demme chooses to bestir them with intrusive camera angles and lingering scenes of emotional poignancy. Absolutely astonishing!! |, August 7, 2019 There are very few moments in which Andy even displays intimacy towards his lover, Miguel, while Joe, a straight, black man, expresses his sexuality very openly with his wife in many scenes. It’s that 1993 film directed by Jonathan Demme with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington featuring one of the best songs ever written by Bruce Springsteen (Streets of Philadelphia, he also won an Oscar for it). Washington plays the "everyman", the on-screen representation of those in the audience who harbor homophobic tendencies. With Hanks, who is always watchable, and Washington, who has also got a very good track record, this film was destined to be fantastic but not even I, who always has an optimistic view when it comes to movies, was ready for the impact that this film made. For so many years, they portrayed gays as sissies, but this movie forced them to change. Metacritic Reviews. Hanks' best performance!!! Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a hotshot law graduate from Penn, has a promising career ahead of him when he discovers that he has AIDS. Yes, the characters in this film are played by actors who are almost universally liked, and distract the viewers from the compelling reality that AIDS affects many people who engage in behavior that to many people is morally ambiguous. This movie made me cry like a baby when I first saw it, and still does now. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Philadelphia indulges in some unfortunate clichés in its quest to impart a meaningful message, but its stellar cast and sensitive direction are more than enough to compensate. I know if my girlfriend were in the hospital, I would probably look and act the exact same way that he does.